D'Arcy looks big doubt for Wales clash

GORDON D'ARCY'S chances of playing any further part in Ireland's Six Nations campaign receded yesterday when coach Eddie O'Sullivan revealed his growing concern over the Leinster centre's hamstring injury.

GORDON D'ARCY'S chances of playing any further part in Ireland's Six Nations campaign receded yesterday when coach Eddie O'Sullivan revealed his growing concern over the Leinster centre's hamstring injury.

D'Arcy limped off in the first half of his side's opening championship fixture against Italy and, despite a spell in a specialist rehabilitation centre in Spala, Poland, he has not figured in Ireland's Grand Slam bid since.

A run-out for Leinster on the weekend confirmed the 25-year-old is not yet ready to make his Test match return and he has been ruled out of Saturday's mouthwatering clash with France at Lansdowne Road and will probably also be ruled out of his country's possible Grand Slam decider against Wales a week later.

But O'Sullivan's assessment that D'Arcy might not be fit for the potential Grand Slam decider on March 19 is a more significant blow, given he is rapidly running out of time to push his claims for British Lions selection.

"I'm worried about Gordon's availability for the Wales match because his recovery has slowed down so dramatically. The situation is a concern," said O'Sullivan.

"We were confident last week that he would be fit for France and we thought he would be fine once he got onto the pitch for Leinster. But he didn't have as much power as he wanted and at that juncture we knew he wasn't right.

"He had some discomfort in his hamstring and underwent a scan yesterday which revealed some residual scarring that hasn't cleared up. That's the reason he hasn't got full power.

"He's 95 per cent there, but that last 5 per cent is taking a lot longer to heal than expected. He hasn't improved much over the last week. He can run but not at full speed. It's a Test match so it's not as if we can throw him in and see what happens."

D'Arcy's troublesome hamstring and Shane Horgan's withdrawal from the squad with a fractured thumb last week has opened the door for Kevin Maggs to win his 68th cap.

The Ulster centre started against Scotland but returned to the bench for the 19-13 victory over England nine days ago when Brian O'Driscoll made his comeback from a hamstring injury.

O'Sullivan said, "There are different dynamics involved when Brian and Kevin are playing together but it's not as if we're throwing a rookie into the game."